Black Oak expands
It has been 15 years since Phase One opened at Black Oak Casino Resort, 20,000 square feet in which to gamble, eat and bowl.
Within five years, the original casino building had been replaced by Phase 2, a sprawling 170,000-square-foot space that included 1,300 slot machines and three restaurants, said Ron Patel, CEO of Black Oak Casino Resort.
Now, still more space is being added.
A 5,000-square-foot expansion of the casino designed to clear space and reduce crowding will be completed sometime next year, and then an RV park, atop a short winding road near the back side of the property.
The addition, which will join the right flank of the casino between the hotel and the main building, will feature a new Willow Creek Lounge, an expanded version of the current lounge.
As people walk through the front doors, they will also be greeted by a new Willow Creek bar. The new venue will be a non-smoking area.
The existing Willow Creek Lounge will be opened up to more gaming, and the existing stage will be used for promotions and announcements, Patel said. Additionally, the current high-limits area and the Manzanita Bar will be relocated to the expanded gaming area.
Work to affix the addition to the main building will hopefully get underway in a few months, Patel said, when construction workers knock down the outer wall and stitch up the space that separates the two structures.
The RV park, a project executed separately, aims to accommodate a growing number of RV drivers in Tuolumne County and across the country.
There is as much demand for RV park space as there is for hotel space, said Patel, who added that RV drivers, who at the moment stay in various RV parks nearby, arrive from across the west coast.
The park will contain 100 parking spaces, each able to accommodate RVs up to 60 feet long. It will contain Wi-Fi, electrical power, sewage and other facilities.
The Black Oak Casino Resort, owned and operated by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, contains 1,300 slot machines, 26 table games, three restaurants, a coffee bar, three casino floor bars, a sports bar and grill, a bowling alley, an entertainment lounge, a gift shop and a kids arcade, according to a press release on the May 15 anniversary of the opening in 2001.
The 148-room Hotel at Black Oak Casino Resort is also owned and operated by the tribe.
Artist/Author: Scott Carpenter / The Union Democrat October 5, 2016 |
